Anger at American U. Over Date Rape Column

Submitted by Doug Lederman on March 31, 2010 - 3:00am

Copies of The Eagle, the student newspaper at American University, have been scattered from their distribution boxes, and signs reading "No Room for Rape Apologists" have been placed above the boxes, following a controversial column, Washington City Paper[1] reported. The column[2] criticized feminists and others at the university for being an "anti-sex brigade." The column said: " 'Date rape' is an incoherent concept. There’s rape and there’s not-rape, and we need a line of demarcation. It’s not clear enough to merely speak of consent, because the lines of consent in sex -- especially anonymous sex -- can become very blurry. If that bothers you, then stick with Pat Robertson and his brigade of anti-sex cavemen! Don’t jump into the sexual arena if you can’t handle the volatility of its practice!" More than 200 comments, many of them sharply critical, have been posted on the newspaper's Web site. Editors[3] of the Eagle, while not endorsing the column, first defended the decision to publish it. But they now plan to issue an apology.[4]